Lately

Two year old Anna in a very serious tone said to Oliver, "alright now, let's be careful". Oliver promptly swatted at the finger she had pointed at him. She then looked at me with the most sincere expression and said, "Oli-ber is not listening"

Our little mailman is pretty adorable and takes his job very seriously. Anna's mom owns a preschool and brings extra crafts to Ty a few times each week. The letter carrier bag was a big hit. He loved making it, as he enjoys all the crafts he completes with Amanda and more so, he loves creating mail for the neighbors. Since our little mailman has limited boundaries, the four neighbors within tight proximity to our house have been inundated with drawings of superheros. The word, "MAIL" is written on the outside of their taped up packaging. He has practiced writing neighbors' names too. It's serious cuteness.

I had an emotional moment this week after discussing college plans with Lauren. This conversation fell on the heels of a discussion with Erin about her internship ending with multiple job offers. The one she wants to take will move her across town. As in AWAY FROM ME. The nerve of these kids to grow up and move out. As we talked about room arrangements and things that would change around here when they both move out, I started to cry. I tried to keep it together because Lauren tolerates very few tears in all situations, especially from her mother. Ever so helpfully Lauren offered to look at baby photos for her senior yearbook to distract me. She's helpful.  Or not.

We had one of Lauren's final conferences Thursday. She was supposed to find a senior quote to accompany her baby photo for the yearbook and so far, none of them are fit for printing. For the love. We are so proud. I spend a lot of time breathing deeply while rubbing my temples in these conferences. May God bless her teacher. She's been through a lot these last three years. For the record, I suggested, "am I in trouble" for her senior quote because any time Danielle or I call her into a discussion, she responds with, "am I in trouble?"

Erin rear-ended a middle aged man on the highway this week in stop-and-go traffic. There was no damage to his car and only her license plate was cracked. The man got out of the car apologizing to her and making sure she was okay. He assumed full responsibility for the accident and asked if she wanted to call the police. Erin said she'd rather not be late for work but would call if he wanted. He agreed to let it go, gave her a hug and again made sure she was okay. Only Erin would get a hug and apology from a perfect stranger for something she was responsible for.

Getting kids onto the bus at 6:50 each morning has it's perks. God shows off a bit at sunrise. This would be the only perk to that horrendous hour but I will take the gifts.

Meanwhile at Meijer.......

Someone chose her own shoes for the day. Anna is one of a kind.

He talked me in to a swiffer so he can mop all by himself. He begged for Oxyclean laundry detergent. "Mom, it is a powerful clean!" I may be raising a germ-a-phobe, a slipper wearing Super germ-a-phobe.

As we entered Meijer he asked what was on our list. I started listing veggies and he let out a deep sigh. "I am so glad Grandma and Grandpa are coming tomorrow. They will bring the good food."

Snow Day Fun

When it's too cold to play outside, just bring the outside in!

Having fun, Devyn?

Someone swiped the camera for a minute this evening while grilling our dinner. He's pretty awesome.

My World

Kate has earned the title of bus monitor for the daily commute. Sister is taking her job very seriously. Believe me, she is taking names and counting offenses. I hear all about it as she returns from school every day. I suspect little boys are taunting her with their whack-a-mole approach to almost standing up in the seats repeatedly.

It's not easy being super. He declared out of the blue he wants to get rid of his bed and sleep in a cardboard box. I told him he'd make a fine homeless man someday. He then attempted to sell the idea by saying, "but Mom, we can paint a cardboard box". Welcome to my world.

I am a bit concerned Ty may have a phobia about germs. He won't eat food another child touches. Baby Levi touched his face and he insisted he could taste baby germs in his mouth and had to brush his teeth. If Devyn or Anna touch his toys after sucking on their fingers, which both still often do, he will have to wash that toy before he will play with it again. I hope this is a phase and not a warning.

Ty made a thinking cap and swears he's a "good thinker" when he wears it. This face is his silly face and I am afraid we are experiencing a sticker shortage.

I am still having technical difficulties with my video settings. I can't upload the clip I took of Ty reading a book for Grandma. He not only sounded out the words as he read but he giggled when the characters were silly. I love seeing the world of books open up to him.
 

Sunday Funday

It was just an average family dinner tonight for all of us and two boyfriends. It consisted of eighteen eggs, two pounds of bacon, a double recipe of sausage gravy, thirty biscuits, two pounds of hash browns, one batch of sour cream pancakes, a pint of blueberries, a quart of strawberries and six ounces of black berries. At one point, Justin was rationing the strawberries and Kate was hiding the pancakes. Erin then requested chili for dessert. Seriously. It took over an hour to prepare and almost as much time to clean up but it was worth every minute of effort to have us all gathered around the table. I hate how infrequent it is that we all get together now that the teens have so many evening commitments. The laughter was loud and contagious. The inside jokes remained appropriate which isn't always the case with twenty two year old boys around the same table as the five year old. Some discussions were deep and others were fun. We are incredibly blessed.

This afternoon Ty and I went to Jennifer's to retrieve Kate from her sleep over with Shelby. Jennifer called ahead and challenged Ty to a duel with his light sabers. Ty has fallen hard for Star Wars and Jenn is a big fan.

Clearly, Jenn is awesome and Ty was in his glory. However, Jenn threatened me with CPS yesterday when she discovered Kate didn't know the Hokey Pokey. I have been on the receiving end of previous threats over Chuck E. Cheese and corn dogs. Jenn is the fun mom.

The Joy of Motherhood

Kristin and I were chatting this morning and I repeatedly interrupted the conversation with cheerful instructions like, "Anna, please stop licking the window. It's yucky" and "Devyn, I have talked with you three times in five minutes. If you jump on my couch again I will ban you from using it again today". Kristin laughed at my couch ban. It must have sounded ridiculous from the other end of the line. Somehow we got on the topic of things we say to our kids in front of other people and she shared her five year old son had lost the privilege of walking through Kroger this week because he was growling at people in the produce section. She found herself explaining it to her their favorite cashier and was embarrassed. I laughed and said that was as entertaining as my son who pulled the shopping cart over on top of himself in the cereal aisle and how I almost asked him where his mother was as I picked all our groceries off the floor. But he was pinned under said cart and perhaps that would have taken things a bit too far. But seriously. How does this happen?

I text Greg at work and said, "I will be sleeping in the bunk bed"

Anna loves to sing. All.The.Time. She is adorable and we sing together frequently. Even through Meijer. Greg was shocked to locate us in an aisle on Monday as we were mixing Anna's rendition of Deep and Wide with the ABC song at the top of our lungs. Frankly, I am surprised they let me in there anymore. I don't exactly have a singing voice, to say the least. But we have fun and annoy very few other shoppers on the average Monday morning.

Someone believes he is reading tonight's bedtime story to his sister.

Speaking of Anna, she has been in the throws of potty training and has learned she can control adults with the power of "I have to go potty". I was held hostage in the bathroom for 45 minutes today. Ahem. I text Anne requesting back up. She promised to locate and send Shemar Moore as a negotiator. Anne is awesome. I love having other momma friends to compare our brand of crazy.

Snow Hours

We woke to an inch of snow on Saturday. The sun was shining so I knew to kick the kids out sooner rather than later if they were going to get to play. Four hours later, it was gone. Generally speaking, this is the way snow showers go around here.

Ty watched a movie at the neighbor's house. He came home keyed up and excited. He really liked the movie and couldn't get his words out fast enough as he described scenes. He kept repeating, "there were white guys with guns" over and over. Erin, who is known for quick whit and sarcasm asked him if he'd been watching CNN. Ahem. As it turns out, Star Wars was the movie and storm troopers were the white guys. Ty is quite interested in light saber fights and now needs some new costumes.

Lauren, who has caught every single illness that has passed near her since she battled mono last summer was sick again this week. She had pleurisy. Fluid gathered in her lungs and it was extremely painful. It's viral and there's nothing to be done for it except ibuprofen every six to eight hours. It has literally been one thing after another for her this school year. She was finally on the mend on Saturday and spent it catching up on school work. She will be on an extended campus plan starting in February and is eager to complete some final projects at school to see that plan into fruition. Sister has Senior-itis too.

Lauren's best buddy kept her company all day Friday while she slept. He hasn't been able to get up onto furniture in a long time so Daddy gave him a lift to comfort Lauren. Brutus was in doggy heaven.

Ty and I had a break-through during school this week. You see, I have always naively believed one should start at the beginning when teaching new concepts. This approach bored my son to tears. One of our language lessons this week introduced the idea of finger stretching to teach how to put letter sounds together to sound out words. The concept worked well for his sisters before him. Ty smirked at me and easily read several three letter words. I was jumping out of my skin excitedly exclaiming, "Ty! You are reading!" He just stared at me for a minute before telling me he thought I was being weird. Apparently the basic phonic lessons I have been focusing on this month were not needed.. Furthermore, I moved ahead a few weeks in his math curriculum once he explained to me that he didn't need to count blocks because we always work with groups of ten and when three of the blocks aren't colored, that means there are seven. So, he is building large numbers in groups of hundreds, tens and units without hesitation. All of this time could have been more fruitful had my son been willing to tell me what he knew in the first place. 

My good friend Cherie brought her family over for dinner last night after her twins played hockey in Louisville. It was so good to see them as it has been way too long since we were last together. I lamented later I never grabbed the camera but quickly noted that blurry children would have been all I could have photographed because there was no way they were going to stop moving long enough to take photos. The adults relaxed while the kids played. It was perfect. We hope hockey brings them into the area again soon.

Sunrise on Friday. You have to get up early if you crave a colorful outdoor scene these days. January is just so brown. I am ready for spring.

A family I am no longer watching reached out this week to see if a play date could be arranged for Kate and her biggest fan. Five year old Gleason adores Kate. Sunday was spent knee deep in dress-up clothes, nail polish and crafts.

Tonight I filed taxes for one teen and ate ice cream in honor of another teen's first broken heart. She was too sad for chocolate or ice cream so it was pretty serious. Since I was not the one she wanted to confide in, I needed the ice cream. This mothering of teens gig is not for the weak of heart or the lactose intolerant.

The Weekend Review

Greg taunts Brutus with his turkey call. Brutus' howling is adorable, just so you know.

I took Kate and her friend to four major name craft stores in search of scrapbooking supplies to update the kids' albums. Whereas they came up with several crafting ideas, I was rather disappointed by the selection. Apparently scrapbooking is a dying art. All the scrapbooking stores have closed their doors since my last updating weekend a year ago. On top of the lack of inspiration out there, I am feeling homesick for my girlfriends in Ohio who would gather together with me one Friday night a month for hours of crafting. It's just not the same without them. I suppose these will be my last old school style albums.

Makenna found herself grounded for the weekend. She spent it lamenting loudly how horrible we are to spend weekends with. She's delightful. She wanted to make sure we hated having her grounded as much as she hated being grounded.

Greg and I had a date for lunch today. We decided we have to go to the Home Depot on our dates because we don't really know how to behave anywhere else. Our behavior is questionable when we are without children. Greg was drooling all over the smoker aisle. 

Our neighbor text she felt safe seeing Superman flying through our yard this weekend. The weather was fantastic and our little superhero caught up on some much needed vitamin D. I noted his laundry this weekend consisted of four pair of underwear, two pair of pajamas, one pair of socks and six costumes.

Oliver has fully recovered from his procedure last week. Convincing him to relax is difficult at times; however, he naps with flare when it's his idea to do so.  Take a load off, buddy.

What We've Been Up To

Caramelizing onions. It couldn't be easier and the flavor impact is incredible. Add a little grilled guacamole to a burger, top with those babies and whala, heaven on a plate! Do yourself a favor and make some.

I have been reading 7 by Jen Hatmaker again. Acknowledging my privilege in this world is beneficial, to say the least. Interrupted was fantastic too. I am processing just what it is I am supposed to do with these convictions.

I resigned from one of my families as of Jan 1 and feel like my load is more manageable now. Ty and I are working through school and he is surprising me with his interest. Of course, I have surprised myself as well. There was a handwriting lesson around the words poop, fart, pee and butt. I am not proud but Ty giggled clear through said lesson and has bragged about it repeatedly. I am Mom of the year, obviously.

Teenagers are wimps. That is all. The same cold that barely slowed Kate and Ty down last week has grounded Lauren and Makenna. Very little school was attended this week and there were some knock down drag outs over priorities. Parenting teens can be such a joy. I now possess an extra phone. I am Mom of the year, obviously.

Last weekend, Greg and I took Makenna, Kate and Ty to see Annie. We all enjoyed the outing after coming to terms with the price-point of a matinee. There is a reason we do this less than once a year. I found the remake to be adorable even though there will never be a replacement for Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan. Half way through the movie, Ty leaned over and announced we should have gone to a good movie. I guess we came away with a mixed review. Afterward, we took the kids to our favorite Cuban restaurant. Live music and energetic crowds were very entertaining. At one point I was singing along with the band and discovered Makenna trying to hide under the table. Once Greg asked me to dance, she announced she was running away. Greg now wants to take all our teens. He is seeking the empty nest a little more than anyone with a five year old should.

Oliver had an appointment with the snip clinic this week. I felt rather anxious about his appointment because that surgery on top of vaccines sent Brutus' health into a tailspin as a puppy. Oliver is thus far no worse for the wear. He returned very happy to see his family and was immediately jumping onto furniture and running through the house which was strongly discouraged by the vet. Let's just say five month old kittens aren't known for being compliant. We're glad to have him home.

So we have this theory around here that any little project can quickly become a big project. We call it the domino effect. I wanted a few organizational items in the kitchen. One was a basket mounted on the inside of a cabinet door for aluminum foil and sandwich baggies and the other was a paper towel holder mounted on the inside of another cabinet door. I keep the paper towels off the counter so they aren't within reach and over-used. Our paper product budget was insane a few short years ago. We still go through a lot but have curtailed it significantly. I digress....the point was that I spent under $15 and made myself happy. I am easy to please. Greg went to install the paper towel holder for me and discovered the paper towels were wet. Further investigation revealed everything under the sink was soaked. Our disposal is leaking. Again. We replaced it six years ago. Is it sad that Greg grinned and asked if I wanted to go on a date to Home Depot with him this weekend to replace the disposal? Yes! A date night! We are pathetic.

New Year

Rumor has it a new year has begun. As it turns out, those things are always ushered in with the month of January. Whereas I am not a fan of January's temperatures, I do appreciate fresh starts and the restoration of routine. I always spend the first few days in my post-holiday purge mode. Several trips to Goodwill are under my belt and I am content to let the rest sit awhile. Spring purges will commence in March. I am a little predictable.

Ty officially started Kindergarten at home on Monday. We knew we'd need a trial run to see where his cooperation level would stand if homeschooling was an option. He has the attention span of a flea. Ask him what he's learned at the end of the day and he will tell you he doesn't know but it takes too long. However, his short language lessons have taught two year old Anna some letter sounds. This is just one more example of the differences between boys and girls and why kindergarten teachers deserve sainthood nominations. My one may end my career. He is so smart but unwilling to demonstrate it when asked. He attended a preschool program in December and impressed the teacher with how well he followed directions. He did as well as the regular students and better than some. Time will tell what this means for his academic future but he asked for additional work in math today. It's a mixed review thus far. However, I suspect being Chase from Paw Patrol won't be an option in a standard classroom so that alone may gain some cooperation moving forward. 

Kate was sent home from school Wednesday with what the nurse thought was a case of pink eye. It ruined her perfect attendance. School policy insists she has to have a doctor's note in order to return to school stating she is no longer contagious. She does have an eye that looks mildly irritated but there has been no drainage and she has cold symptoms. I will not take her into an office where she is far more likely to pick up something worse than pink eye unless she needs medical treatment. As it turns out, I have a policy too. There's been a small battle of wills and Kate has returned to school. The school nurse may not be a member of my fan club. However, throughout this process we discovered we never received our new health insurance cards and since we were required to change providers, this is a problem. Open enrollment back in October failed to process our order. Awesome. I am glad we discovered this before we had a medical emergency. Now we are just hoping we can get this squared away efficiently. I kid myself.

Oliver keeping Kenna's homework warm. We are about a day away from "the cat ate my homework" around here. And that won't stop anyone from leaving it lying around.

Ty was running up and down the hallway in his sleep last night. It was hilarious. I swear the boy never walks anywhere. He landed in bed with me and was immediately out cold. I couldn't resist a shot of his gorgeous eye lashes. I am very much aware I am biased but seriously, they are amazing.